My wife couldn't work because she had two young children with severe medical conditions, and she hasn't worked since then. I have a decent career, but it never paid well enough. The company didn't seem to mind that I was trying to support four people on my receiving salary.

It was hard for me; many sleepless nights are thinking about surviving with this low salary alone. I asked my boss for a raise; I was fired for requesting a raise. It was a dark time for me; I'll struggle if I must, just for the sake of my beloved family.

Fired asking for a raise?? What sort of company is this?

Was there shouting or name calling involved?

This can happen if you just don't read the room right.

Although getting fired for something like this implies you are already on thin ice, and you basically pushed your luck.

All respect to the op though, these companies aren't your friends, and the very second you have a better opportunity you need to take it. By far the best experiences of my early adulthood was getting fired, I learned at a young age to not feel any loyalty to these companies. They don't care if your wife, or your kids are sick. They don't care if you need HealthCare coverage to keep living, they only care about the bottom line

Take care of yourself, and save your money.

I'd say start learning in C++ and slowly transition to C. That's what I did; it was worth it. There are a lot of good resources in learning C & C++.

Any book or website recs for c++?